“Send to Phone” had let you fire off unlimited texts to any U.S. mobile number through either a Web interface or a Firefox/IE toolbar. Google quietly retired it within the past few weeks, though, making no formal announcement outside of the notice on the page. A spokesperson was not immediately available Thursday to provide any further explanation as to the reason for its discontinuation.

Fear not, though: The era of free Internet-based text messaging is not over. I’ve had good luck with Gizmo SMS, a similarly simple Web-based SMS provider with no fees. Unlike Google’s former service, it even supports texts to a ton of countries outside the U.S. If that doesn’t meet your fancy, txtDrop.com is another comparable alternative, though only for users in the U.S. and Canada.

Google “Send to Phone” Gone — Where to Find Free Texting Now? is a post from: The Inquisitr